Future Memory
by bluespace
Summary: are we always remembered the way we were? future AU. please read and review.


Disclaimer: star trek and all its characters don't belong to me, only the story is mine. And I owe inspiration of this story to the excellent writers of Babylon 5. It was in an episode of that show that this idea first came to me. But you take inspiration were you can get it I always say.  
  
Future Memory  
  
By: bluespace  
  
2353  
  
Earth  
  
Starfleet Academy  
  
`History of the Federation'  
  
Taught by Emanuel Forest  
  
"And so you can see that soon the ideals of the early explorers spread and became the ideal of the Federation." Professor Forest concluded his dissertation. "And now the topic is open for class discussion."  
  
Several students raised their hands at once.  
  
"Yes Mr. LaForge." The Professor called on the young, blind, black man.  
  
"Sir, I cant help but wonder, was it the Federation that first proposed the statutes that have become a mainstay in Starfleet, or did Starfleet pass on those ideals at the foundation of the Federation?"  
  
"That is a very good question, I think I'll leave this open to your fellow students. Class who thinks they have an answer for Mr. LaForge here?"  
  
Fewer raised their hands to this question.  
  
"Yes, Ms. Curlifor, your answer for Mr. LaForge."  
  
"Well sir, dos anyone really know the exact date of the foundation of Starfleet. Technically didn't it begin when man ventured in to space, or when a warp drive came in to wide use or when Archer and the Enterprise started their voyage? And if we really don't know the exact date, the official one aside, how can we suppose what ideals may have been held by its founders."  
  
Another held a hand aloft, and was called on.  
  
"Go ahead Mr. Riker if you have something to add."  
  
"Sir if we call in to question the dates given us about the founding of the organization we are endeavoring to enter, must we also question the very society on which we stand. Was it not different, say back in the day of Archer and his Enterprise?"  
  
"Ok to make this simpler, let's focus on that ship, that crew. What ideals did they hold do you think? They of course ventured before the establishment of the Federation so you could say their motives were purely those of Starfleet. What ideals did that ship hold?"  
  
Another student eagerly attempted to join the debate.  
  
"Your opinion Mr. Dayton."  
  
"I believe the motives of that ship may have been whole separate from the motives of those left behind. At the time they were the only ship able to do what they were doing, traveling faster then anyone else in the then Starfleet. I believe that to scale their motives to be that of the Starfleet of that time is unrealistic and therefore to take their ideals as that of Starfleet is untrue."  
  
"Mr. Dayton raises an interesting thought, was the Enterprise so far removed from its source that it developed a society all its own? Ms. Kilanger."  
  
"That could be a valid point if the actions of that crew hadn't influenced certain doctrines later established as the norm or if their experiences hadn't furthered the experiences of us all. These people were out on their own among an alien universe that did not make them any less human. Since Starfleet at the time was Human, their experiences and therefore ideals would be highly relevant to the development of Starfleet. They relied on them to be their eyes in that alien world, so to disregard their discoveries and advancements would be unjust. Why even the integration of other species in to the ranks began largely with the integration of T'pol."  
  
"Oh another topic has been entered here, T'pol. Was she really a member of Starfleet? She went to no training on Earth, hers came from Vulcan, was she then less Starfleet the say a Vulcan who serves in the diplomatic corps today?"  
  
"I think its unfair to judge her based on her origins. At the time there was no president to measure against in the matter of a different species joining Starfleet. Its then not possible to rate her entry better or worse then someone else's."  
  
"Good point, but there is a measure now, should we not take avail of it?"  
  
"No." answered Mr. LaForge. "Because we are in a time and place in our society that though it began with them, we can not judge their mistakes against our own triumphs. Their experiences and those of the early Starfleet and the Federation were so far removed from those of our own, with documentation meant for those in that time, that to speculate about it is nearly impossible. They had ideals to begin with, each individual did. And as others joined they brought more with them as well, and so Starfleet evolved as a unit. And the same with the Federation, only those people themselves could say what they thought at the beginning as opposed to at the end."  
  
"Very good Mr. LaForge. I think the entire question has been answered. With out speaking directly to such historical figures, it really becomes impossible to divine their motives or ideals. History twists and contorts itself around the ideals and motives of those who record it, so really, in essence all history is subject to scrutiny is it not?"  
  
"So then why is it a required course?" someone yelled out from the back, seconds before the dismissal bell rang.  
  
"That I will answer next time." The professor promised with a broad smile, as the class quietly filed out.  
  
2653  
  
Earth  
  
Starfleet Headquarters  
  
Research Facility Four  
  
"I still can't get the Enterprise anthology to fit in the chronology of the ship of the line series." Gregor Tem complained as he juggled at least six data pads and turned his pledging eyes to his research partner, Mira Hyman.  
  
"What's the problem now?" she said with a sigh, perfectly willing to hear the plights of her coworker.  
  
"Well see, they had adventures that were, well, inconsistent and unbelievable."  
  
"Yes but next to the Picard files, theirs is the most widely believed."  
  
"I know, but when the HQ decided that the Kirk files were little more then indulged megalomania, well, shouldn't the files of Archer been held suspect as well?"  
  
"You are asking big questions. We cant question our entire past just because of one mans arrogant boasts. What happened during the voyages of the Enterprise under Captain Archer is the foundation of what we now know to be true."  
  
"Well I can believe the first contact with the Klingons, and the introduction of new species in to Starfleet. I can believe the later integration acts and the rough draft of the prime directive. But some say that, descendants of T'pol and her legacy still live. Others claim that there was a dog on board the ship. The claims and truth can not always coexist."  
  
"Well true, some things just must be wrong. But when you come down to it that is true of all history we catalog. We just have to leave the editing to the big wigs. In the long run it's all kept for prosperities sake anyway." Mira said, dismissing the whole dilemma all together.  
  
"You know what I heard though?" Gregor said in a near whisper, leaning forward as if he had the greatest secret to pass on.  
  
"What did you hear?" She asked distractedly, not really sure she cared to hear his answer.  
  
"I heard that because of the anticipation of war with the Bajorans they are placing all documentation of this sort, and the remains of the great leaders in stasis. They're preserving them as though they expect an attack on HQ itself."  
  
"I've heard that too. With the withdrawal of the Vulcan's from the Federation Empire, you really can't know what to expect."  
  
"I heard that the Vulcan ambassador said, in his farewell address, that one day they would return, maybe even help rebuild."  
  
Mira shivered a little. "I hate that speech, it's so ominous, like they expected the end of everything."  
  
"Maybe they did. The early Enterprise records spoke of a temporal war, what if we are approaching its start and will have more then we can handle soon?"  
  
"I doubt it, like you said, much of that is suspect anyway. I think they are just putting these things in stasis to keep them out of the way and make more room for more important stuff."  
  
"I hope your right." Gregor said as he gathered the last of the Enterprise files and boxed them in the stasis unit.  
  
"I know I'm right." Mira said slapping a holo-lable on the container and marking it for transport to the archives in Merivila, Greenland. "I'm just glad I don't have anymore packing to do. Now its up to the people upstairs to decide what to do with the Picard files."  
  
"Glad that's not my job, those are really important."  
  
"I second that. How about buying a girl a drink."  
  
3256  
  
Earth  
  
Former War Headquarters  
  
Past Re-examination Center  
  
Under the command of General Liestat  
  
"The new shipment just came in from the north sir." The young recruit announced with a tight salute. "They say that sixty percent of the actual stock was destroyed, probably within the first hundred years of the war.  
  
"What do they say is left?" the general asked.  
  
"Not much sir, but what there is, well they say its phenomenal sir, like looking right into the past."  
"Have it examined and distributed. I want to know first when anything of use in this war is discovered. We need all the advice we can get at this point, we lose ground by the hour it seems."  
  
"Well sir I don't know how useful it will be, it has talk of spacemen in it, of world governments and the like."  
  
"Great just what I need, fairytales. I don't have time for this, send it to the Southern Faction, maybe they need fairytales to read to their dieing soldiers."  
  
"Are you sure, sir there may be something of use."  
  
"I said I don't have time, I'm tiring to help the Northern hemisphere win a war soldier, I don't have time for this." Each word dripped with authority.  
  
"Yes sir, of course not sir. Ill see to it right away." He saluted grandly and waited to be dismissed.  
  
"You do that, dismissed." The general grumbled. He then bent over the military strategies from up to 500 years ago. The world seemed perpetually at war. If he could just pinpoint the start or a way to end it, there might be peace in his lifetime.  
  
4010  
  
Newberry Monastery  
  
Head Leader Gerard  
  
"Head leader, the new scrolls are complete. They are the last. The power units on the ancient texts have given out." the bustling young monk ran in, his arms filled with the precious cargo.  
  
"And what deeds of the Greats do we learn of today my young one." Asked the Head Leader with almost no emotion in his voice.  
  
"In this tale the Mighty Archer sails his ship to a star known not to man before. He names it for the Fair Hoshi and it is inhabited by cricket-like people with great wisdom."  
  
"Ah another fine tale. Another great voyage by our ancestors." Gerard commented as he opened the first scroll and scanned its handwritten text. "Fine coping as well. Let me learn it and then instruct it to be learned by the Teachers to pass on with the rest of the histories."  
  
"I also had a question Head Leader." The Monk, Jerome, shakily added.  
  
"Go on."  
  
"Well it's about the Great Reed, sir. There is so much known about him, and so little known about the Mighty Archer himself, how do we know for sure that the Mighty Archer was indeed the Greatest?"  
  
"Ah, yours is a question of faith then young one."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Come sit with me."  
  
Jerome obeyed eagerly.  
  
"There is much that is not understood completely to us. Much we do not understand. The mire idea of traveling through the stars would be ludicrous to one who did not believe. Why before it was discovered that the Wise Porthos was from a race superior even to that of the Beautiful T'pol's, many doubted his presence in the texts."  
  
"I know that, we are always learning more."  
  
"Then you must trust this to will be revealed. Like the Savvy Tucker we must persevere and tinker with our knowledge until it is just right."  
  
"So it could be I am correct in my questioning?" the young monk asked wide-eyed.  
  
"Very much so. With out questions we would not have discovered the coexistence of the Worthy Mayweather and the Great Archer, two halves to the same amazing captaincy. One was able to stir the boat the other able to command it. They were two people in one. How dark our knowledge would be without such a revelation, no?"  
  
"True, High Leader, true."  
  
"Now follow the example of the Fair Hoshi, try to control your emotions. Let meditation and discipline be your guide. Travel not down the overexcited road of the Beautiful T'Pol, looking only to challenge everything. Challenge only what you think you can fix as the Savvy Tucker would. Then you will learn the answers to the questions you seek."  
  
"I will think on it then High Leader. I will apply myself to seek the question I wish to answer."  
  
" A wise move. Soon, with such diligence and wisdom, we will join our ancestors among the stars."  
  
"I hope so High Leader." The monk said as he left in the same high mood he had entered in.  
  
4285  
  
Earth  
  
First Recorded Alien Contact  
  
The ratted people on the ground trembled with excitement and fear at the landing of the alien craft. They expected beings so wholly different from themselves, so utterly strange, that the appearance of being much like them was even more of a shock.  
  
Sub-Commander N'rol had little interest in these being beyond the fact that the tiniest bit of her heritage was tied up with the race. She raised an eyebrow to the ignorance of the species as they reacted as though contact had never taken place at all. She wondered if her people would have suffered the same fate had they not pulled out of the Federation Empire and isolated themselves from the Universal Wars. She could not imagine losing the knowledge of who her great ancestors were and the growth of her people.  
  
She realized she probably knew more about humans then they knew about themselves. The great ancestors had lived with humans; part of her heritage was human. Yet these people acted as if space flight was their own creation, their own triumph. Her human ancestor was the first Engineer to voyage deep on a warp vessel, her other ancestor single handedly changed relations between the Earth government and Vulcan High Command with her decisions, reports and even marriage.  
  
These people were ignorant of all of this, and deep down, or maybe not so deep, she pitied them.  
  
Yet she also was silently glad, now she had the same opportunities as her ancestor, perhaps she to could bare the torch of unification and promote peace. Mayhap that could be a legacy she to could leave.  
  
N'rol's mood had improved greatly by the time she too disembarked the great ship.  
  
This was like a whole new beginning.  
  
THE END  
  
So comments? 


End file.
